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I. QLD. SBAGBYVE'E E. R. FULLER.

'FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 286,644. Patented oct. 16, 1883*.

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FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 286,544. Patented ont. 16, 1883;

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. To @ZZ whom it may oon/cern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT NICE JOHN D. SEAGRAVE AND-EUSTIS R. FULLER, OFTORCESTER, MSS.

FI RE-ESCAPE.

x SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 286,644, dated October16, 1883.

Application filed February :23, 1883.- (No model.)

Beit known that we, JOHN D. SEAG-Rnvn and EUsTIs R. FULLER, ofNVorcester, in the county of Worcester andA State cf Massachusetts, haveinvented certain Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following isa specification. i

Our invention relates to fire-escapes; andit consists in a pulley-blockadapted to be secured or attached to -a window-casing, cornice, or otherlike place, and provided with a brake or rope clamp, an endlessropepassing through said block, and a second pulley-block, likewiseprovided with a brake or clamp, and adapted to travel either with orupon the endless rope. 'The invention further consists in devices forraising the escape to any desired point from the ground, and forsuspending the same in positi on.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents our escape in use.Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, partly insection; Fig. 3, a section on the line yy of Fig. 2; Fig. 4,aperspective view ofthe hanger or support; Figs. 5 and 6, respectively,perspective and sectional views of a ball or shell conl control, both bypersons descending or ascending, and by persons on the ground below, sothat grown persons having sufcient self-possession to manage theapparatus for themselves can do so, while for those lacking such self-Ycomplete control of the device, and will thenl and serving to crowd thelatter over against the closed side I) `of the shell, and thereby toproduce suflicient friction cr binding to hold the rope from movingupward on that side of the pulley Von which the brake is arranged.' Thebrake D has a stem, o, which is encircled by asprin g, d, and passesthrough an inwardlyextending arm, e, formed on the shell or'casing B, toguide and sustain said stein. The lower end of the stein c is providedwith an eye, f, to which a cord or light rope, kE, is attached, whencesaid cord or rope passes to the ground,

Vto enable persons there to control brake D.

(designated by letter '1 a person may, by getting into such carrier anddrawing down upon the side of rope F which passes over brake D,(designated by letter 2,) hoist himself or be hoisted to any desiredpoint up to the block A,

and the brake D, being left to act without disf turbance, will hold thecarrier at any desiredk point or at whatever point it is raised to.

Then it is desired to descend, the cord E is pulled t6 withdraw thebrake D, and this may be done with such care as to permit the rope totravel but slowly; or it may be entirely withdrawn, in which case thedescent would be regulated by holding back the ascending side of therope, more or less, as required. In or- A der, however, to render theapparatus more complete and efficient, we provide a sliding or travelingpulley-block, G, which we place upon the rope F, passing the latteronce'around the pulley H, the basket or carrier being attached to saidblock. The sliding block G is furnished with a Y clamping device orbrake,

rod

consisting of a pivoted or hinged tongue orl plate, I, arranged wit-hinthe shell or block, and an eccentric-lever, J, arranged to-bear uponsaid tongue, which in turn bears upon the rope F, pressing it againstthe pulley H withy force sufficient to entirely prevent the movement ofthe rope or the pulley, or to regulate the movement as found necessary.rIhis second block enables a person to first raise himself by the rope Fto any desired point, as explained, then permitting brake D to lock therope to descend at any desired rate by regulating the pressure of leverJ. rI he device is thus quite useful for other purposes-#such aspainting or working on the walls or faces of buildings-and to stillfurther adapt it to such uses and also to enable parties to work moreefficiently in assisting persons out of windows, Src., we provide theshell G with a thumbscrew, K, which can be turned or screwed in to bearagainst pulley H and to hold said pulley against rotation. Any form ofbasket, belt, or carrier may be used.

For the purpose of affording a ready means of suspending the escapewithout the aid of tools or special implements, we provide a hook orhanger, L, consisting of alarge screw-stem, g, a pin or hook, h, and aheavy ball, 1'., the screw-stem being gimlet-pointed, and the ballsufficiently heavy to enable a person, by taking the ball in his handand striking the point of the screw into a window frame, casing, or

' cornice, to start the screw sufficiently to cause it to force its wayin when turned by hand. rIhis gives a ready means of suspending theblock A, its loop a being passed over the hook Y or pin h, which maythen becarried close up to the wood-work by turning the screw-stem, thuspreventing the accidental escape of loop d.

It often happens in case of lire that persons are cut off from the exitsby the flames or smoke, in which case it has often been found impossibleto give to the persons so cut off any means of escape..l

To enable the escape to be carried up to any part of a building readilyand without the use of ladders, we provide a case or shell, M,consisting of two hollow hemispheres, j k, having their adjoining edgesadapted to iit one over` the other, and united by a central stem, Z,threaded at one end to permit the hemisphere 7c to screw onto it, theopposite end being made fast in the other part.

N represents a spool, which is placed upon the stem Z, and rotatesfreely thereon, said spool being wound with stout twine, or with strongbut pliablewire or wire cord, one end of which is made fast to thespool, while the other end passes th rough an opening, m, formed in thecasing.

When it is desired to use the device, the end of the cord or wire isfirmly held in one hand, and the ball is thrown to a window or over aprojection or roof, and being seized by a person in the room, or fallingto the ground after passing over a roof or projection, the wire orescape.

cord serves to draw up -the rope F, bywhch a person may next ascend, andbeing at the desired point he may properly suspend the In order that thebrake D of the block A may be thrown or held out of action whendesirable so to do, its stem c is provided with 4a nut, n, by which theupward movement of the brake may be so far limited as to prevent it fromacting or wedging 'between the rope and pulley:

In some cases, and .probably in most cases, it will be found desirableto extend the axle o of the pulley or sheave H outward on each side 'of'the block, and to provide said axle with hand-cranks p, which may beused to let the block down gradually, the clamp or binding-screw beingin such case used merely to hold the block at any desired point.

We are aware that it is not broadly new to construct a pulley-block witha brake or clamp ing device which will permit the rope or cable to passfreely through in one direction, but prevent its movement in the reversedirection; and we are also aware that brakes have been applied to thepulleyat the top of a fire-escape or hoisting apparatus and arranged tobe operated by a cord from the ground.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. Theherein-described fire-escape, consisting of pulley-block A, providedwith brake D, sliding block G, provided with a brake or clamp, and ropeor cable F, passing through both blocks, substantially as described.

2. In a fire-escape, a pulley-block provided with a brake which permitsthe rope to run freely in one direction, but prevents 4it from runningin the other direction until the brake is withrawn, and a cord extendingfrom the brake to or nearly to the ground, adapted to withdraw thebrake.

8. In a fire-escape, the combination of afixed pulley-block, a ropepassing through said block, and a wedge or brake adapted and arranged toenter between the rope and pulley and to force the rope against theshell or the block, substantially as explained.

4. In combination with pulley-block A, having closed side b, and withrope F, passing through said block, the wedge D, having stem c, and thevspring cZ, encircling said stem and serving to force the wedge betweenthe pulley and the rope.

5. In combination with block G, provided with pulley H, set-screw K,adapted to bear directly on the pulley, and rope or cable F, passingthrough the block and around the pulley, as set forth.

6. rIhe hanger or hook for suspending the fire-escape, consisting ofscrew-stem g, pin h, and ball Z, all substantially as shown.

7 The herein-described lire-escape-line carrier, consisting of separableshell M, carrying spool N, said spool being furnished with cord or wire,as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The herein-described line-carrier, consisting of hemispheresj ZZ,stem Z, and spool IOO IIO

N, provided Wit-h cord or Wire,lone end of said the brake-stem, wherebyit .may be drawn oord. or wire being attached to the spool and Vbook andheld out of action. the other end passing through and outside ofl JOHND. SEAGRAVE.

' EUSTIS R. FULLER.

the shell, as shown, 5 9. In combination with a pulley-block, aVtnesses: brake, D, constructed substantially as shown, FRED HUBBARD,

and describedg and provided with a 111115,15 on Y THOS. H. HAYFORD.

